Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-26
sKINNING PROCESS.
Peculiar Surgical Operation ON a
California Man.

On the 18th of last May Peter Nc
Intyre, who possessed local reputa-
ton as a sprinter, was severely burned
| in a fire at Central Park. The burns
on his feet healed rapidly enough, but
the flesh on his shoulders and arms
was so scorched that the ordinary pro-
cess of nature was insufficient to re-
store it to its former condition. 1t
was determined by the physicians to
graft skin taken from other people on
the exposed surface, and thus hasten
the cure. Six weeks ago this opera
ton was begun, and since then over
100 pieces of skin have been fastened
on raw parts. 1t will be several weeks
vet before the last graft shall have
been attached and the bandages re-
moved.
All the skin was taken from the
friends OF Mcintyre, who willingly
contributed the required portions Of
their cuticle. Each graft was a circu-
lar piece about an eighth of an inch
in diameter. 1t was taken from the
arm. Each subject rolled up his
sleeve in McIntyre's room, at No. S2S
Howard street, and the surgeon
raised the skin with a fine pair OF for
ceps. Then, with a circular scissors,
he clipped the skin off, leaving a
round red mark on the arm, AID i'm
mediately placed the graft on McIn-
tyres wound.
These gratis have been taken from
about forty men. Usually four were
supplied by each, but some of the sick
mans friends have more than that
number of pink marks on their left
arm. Among those from whom dona-
tions were cut were Allan A. McNeill,
Michael McNeill, Daniel McNeill,
Daniel Mcdonald, Anthony McDon-
aid, Allan Mcdonald. L. McTavish,
Andrew Mcdonald, Edward Burns, j..
S. Mcintosh, Mr.. Riley, j. G. Flynn,
John Frazier, w. A. Scott, Chris.
Beatty, John Beatty. John Lozenger,
James Morgan, Victor Mcdonald,
Hugh Mccormick, Norman Beaton,
VIM. Urquhart, James A. Mckay, j..
wv. Jordan, John Mccarthy, James
Robinson and John Nelson.
The gratis were planted about an
inch apart, as each little piece grows
about that far over the flesh and
unites with the other skin that it
meets. 1t is transferred Immediately
from one body to another, as the
tissue must be imbued with vitality
when placed on the raw flesh and it
would lose all life in short while.
The foreign character of the skin may
be detected after the healing process is
over, and it does not change its par
ticular hue, and is also devoid of hair
and sweat-glands. Its advantage is
great, inasmuch as when such burns
cicatrize the muscles are drawn up,
and not only is movement restrained.
but deformity follows. The grated
skin is elastic and obviates all such
unpleasant results.
Instances of the grating of many
pieces of skin, as in this case, have
not been common here. The process
itself is comparatively new, having
been discovered in 1859 by Riverden,
Partisan surgeon. He noticed little
islets of skin growing on raw surfaces,
found that they proceeded from little
germs of skin that had not been de-
stroyed, and concluded that trans
planted skin would thrive in the same
manner. 1t had been previously been
supposed that it would take a covering
of cuticle as large as the sore or
wound itself to make a successful
grating, and such large areas Of skin
could not be obtained. iGg,Since then
the various kinds OF skm-the tissue
of chickens, frogs, young pigs and
other animals : have been expert
mented with, but for successful trans
planting the human skin has been
found necessary.-lSan Francisco Ex-
aminer.